FTSE 100 tumbles 5.09%
Wednesday 14th January 2009, 5:02PM GMT.
The FTSE 100 has plunged over five per cent to 4,175.45, dragged down by a flurry of bad news for the banking sector.
Massive job losses at Barclays, reports HSBC will have to raise more capital and Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) sale of its Bank of China stake have all driven down prices in the sector, weighing on the index as a whole.
RBS shares tumbled 17.22 per cent to close at just 42.3p, while Barclays shares fell 15.19 per cent and HSBC dropped 9.8 per cent.
Mining firms also continued to slump and Xstrata registered steep falls of 12 per cent over the day.
Most stocks were in the red, with only a handful making gains over the day, including engineering firm Amec, which rose 6.42 per cent on positive results.
The falls over the last five days have wiped out gains made at the start of the year, and the index now hovers just above the 4,000 mark.
Ryan Kneale, market analyst at www.BetsForTraders.com, said: “The European banking sector is back in bits this morning with news of further job cuts at Barclays, profit warnings from Deutsche Bank and talk that HSBC may need to raise additional capital later this year.
“All of the above are sending banking stocks tumbling after a robust few days trading for banks.”
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
